First Empty Nesters' Cruise - Part 1

My Mister and I took a long weekend at the end of January to enjoy our first vacation, albeit a very short vacation, without children.  Since I wasn’t quite sure how it was going to work out, we didn’t stray far.  (I know, I know...I have a son in the Navy stationed across the country and my daughter is in college, but still home...I'm taking baby steps!)

We took a four-day cruise to the Bahamas.  The main purpose was to just relax. 2014 was a tough year and we needed a break after the holidays. I wasn’t even interested in getting off the ship…once you’ve seen the Bahamas, well…

However, by the time we reached Nassau I was ready to see some different people so we planned to just walk the island.

Here is a snapshot of our day…

Monkey hung around the room while we were out

This little lighthouse appealed to me as we were approaching Nassau.  I thought is was neat with Atlantis in the background.

Just in case you need to know where you are 

J

Pretty conch shells all in a row

Freshest conch salad around...I took a pass after observing the condition of the "kitchen"

Backgammon, anyone?

The obligatory stop at the straw market

I'm never interested in the cheaply constructed commercial items

But I do love a large bowl made from palm

We had to get a little souvenir to commemorate our

First Empty Nesters' Cruise J

Every Caribbean island has a Senor Frogs which

we avoid at all costs

My Mister prefers hole in the wall places

"Casablanca" down stairs

"Tropicana" upstairs

Then, my Mister found this....

I'll be back soon to share more, including the quilt show.

Thanks for stopping by.

Slow Stitching and Gifts

Happy Sunday Everyone!!!

Today is Slow Sunday Stitching at Kathy’s Quilts and I am very happy to report that I am continuing with my Birdie Stitches blocks and participation over at Kathy’s linky party.

This is the block I completed last Sunday

August

This is the block I am working on today

September

I absolutely love Pilot's Frixion pens for tracing my pattern.  I can mark over and make adjustments as necessary then simply remove the markings with the heat from an iron when I am finished.

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A couple months ago my cousin asked me to knit her daughter a Yoda hat.  I had never even heard of such a thing but I found a pattern on the internet and was surprised at how easy it worked up.

My cousin never sent me a picture of her daughter wearing hers but I posted a picture of the hat alone on Facebook and my son’s friend in the Navy asked for one for her son, which also happens to be my Sailor’s Godson. Did you follow all of that?

Well, my son sent me a photo of the two of them

  

My son is such a funny guy

And then the baby’s mom sent me another one

I would have to say that cutie pie makes any hat look good.

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I also promised to share some gifts I made for Christmas, so here they are…

Tissue covers in patriotic fabric for the group of ladies at work that knits helmet liners for the soldiers.

I made several of these cosmetic bags.  They are a Pickle Pie Design made in the embroidery unit of my Brother Quattro 3.

I love Pickle Pie Designs because all of her linings have finished seams...no raw seams inside at all.

I also made the Pickle Pie cross body bag. These stitch out pretty quickly and are a nice size.

Now I think we are all caught up so I'm going to sink into a comfy chair, watch football and stitch this Sunday away.

Have a blessed week, my friends.

Slow Stitching and UFO Busting

Hand embroidery is something that I have attempted several times over the years and while I am not necessarily horrible at it, I’m no expert.

I saw a beautiful quilt on Candace’s blog that inspired me to practice my embroidery (you really should go check it out at Squash House Quilts).  Then Tanya mentioned that she would be participating in today’s Slow Sunday Stitching featured on Kathy’s blog.

But wait….there’s more… I remembered a project I started in 2012 but had put away for a very good reason, I just can’t remember what that very good reason was.

Little Miss Shabby offered a free BOM titled Birdie Stitches, you can still read about it here. Her sketches are just too cute!

I decided to pull out the blocks and work on those during slow stitching Sundays and link up at Kathy's Quilts.

WARNING: Ugly blocks ahead but they will look better once I trim and press them.

January

February

March

April

May

June

I should change the year

July

August

I'm working on this one today

I used a jelly roll for the block borders but can't remember which fabric line they are from.  If anyone knows, please share.

Still not sure if I will make a full quilt with these or just mini quilts for my table top quilt stand.

This is how I’m spending my Sunday afternoon.  Are you stitching today?

I have one more Christmas gift to deliver then I can share the secret sewing I promised.

Hope you all have a blessed week!

Just Jane, Just for Me

Getting quilty mail is always fun but getting quilty mail that comes in packages with dots…

...that’s exceptionally fun and super special.

Stephanie, who blogs at Rummage and before that at Loft Creations, wrote Uncommonly Corduroy.  I have previously shared how much I love this book of bag and quilt patterns.  You can see some but not all, of the bags I made from her book here and here.

The one pattern I had not tried was Stephanie’s Just Jane bag.  That is until she surprised me with a kit containing all of the fabrics and notions I needed to make it.  

The kit contained 21 wale corduroy, a fabric I had not previously used.  It is so easy to work with and I will definitely be using it again.  She also included a mini charm pack of Color Me Happy by V and Co. for Moda.  I love this line of fabric, it reflects some of my favorite colors.

I took the opportunity to test the new little Pfaff by making my new tote.  The machine passed the test.  It transitioned very nicely from just piecing to quilting through Soft and Stable.  I’m really loving the built-in walking foot.

Thank you Stephanie for your kind generosity!  I love my Just Jane bag.

Our Holidays and the New Sewing Machine

I hope you are enjoying your holiday season.  We were blessed to have both of our children home at the same time.  Our sailor son was home for two weeks and our daughter is on college break.  Since I’m not sure when this will happen again, I baked everyone’s favorites.

 Buckeyes

  

Tea Cups

Aunt Sarah’s Chocolate Cake

Miss Lou’s Pound Cake

My mom made Sand Tarts

We did a lot of eating and visiting.  It was very sad leaving our son at the airport Friday. We hope to visit him in San Diego next March, during our daughter’s spring break.  It will depend on his ship’s schedule…keeping fingers crossed that he will not be underway then.  His ship is scheduled to relocate to Japan mid-year.

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Thank you to everyone who provided guidance with regard to a portable sewing machine.  I quickly made a decision and took some of my Christmas money to make a purchase.

Since I recently had a problem with my main machine and was without it for over a month, I could not imagine dealing remotely with a seller.  I decided to buy from someone who is close to home in case I need repairs.  That limited me to either a Brother, Babylock, Janome or Pfaff.  I wanted something that is lightweight yet durable since its primary purpose is to take to classes.

I was very interested in a Janome but the local dealer did not have the model I wanted to see and it was a bit more expensive than the Pfaff I chose.

Pfaff Passport 2.0

It features an integrated dual feed system (IDT) which is basically a built-in walking foot.  I can’t tell you how thrilled I am with this feature. 

The IDT is very easy to disengage if you do not need it.

It offers more stitches than I will ever use.

My main machine is also an embroidery machine which means it is very heavy and too expensive to be carting around.

At just over 12 pounds, the Pfaff will serve the purpose.  Oh...and it was ON SALE!!!!

I’ll be back soon to show you the project I am making to test the new Pfaff.  It has me seeing dots…that is a good thing J

Enjoy the last few days of 2014!

Help, please

Update:  Thank you for your comments and guidance.  I have made a decision (& purchase) and will share soon. Thank you again for stopping by and your help!

Happy Holidays my friends.

It has been quite a while since I’ve posted and I have missed blogland something awful.  What little time I have had to check in with my quilty, crafty friends has been spent on Instagram.  I look forward to returning soon and sharing the secret sewing I’ve been up to.

For now, I need your help.  I am looking for a small, simple, economical but reliable sewing machine that I can easily take to classes.  I’ve done a little online research at Janome, Bernina, Brother and the result is that I am completely overwhelmed.  I would appreciate it if you have any advice to offer.

Wishing you all a very happy and blessed holiday season.